Reel for use with strip material



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jun 28, 1955 Filed Dec.

5 3 RN :Qia nk R H mm m a W W a .ml H mu, H h m. ////////////////923 R F Rs u s Q QC S 8 M 9 Q 2 t l H l 9 k H ul I E Q 3 a a M @m m mm R Q a m Nm Nm "v 2 W it T M m 3 June 28, 1955 HERR REEL FOR USE WITH STRIP MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 11, 1951 i Mil] Wm| 8 A SEEN 3 Em INVENTOR. RICH/7RD F HERR Q Q Rife/"hey United States Patent REEL FOR USE WITH STRIP MATERIAL Richard F. Herr, Warren, @hio, assignor, by mesue as signments, to The Herr Equipment Corporation, Warren, ()hio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 11, 1951, Serial No. 261,029

2 Claims. (Cl. 242-72) My invention relates to reels for use with strip material, more particularly to winding reel devices adapted to form coils of metal strip, and the principal object of my invention is to provide new and improved devices of the character described.

It has been common practice in the art of coiling strip metal to employ expansible-contractable reels upon which the strip may be wound. The strip is normally wound upon the expanded reel and the reel subsequently collapsed to permit the completed coil to be removed. The

reel may then be expanded and another winding operation initiated.

Winding reels of the prior art have been heavy, cumbersome and expensive to purchase and maintain. These shortcomings have been due in large part to the prior art design wherein large forces are required to hold the reel expanded while winding and to collapse the reel when the coil is completed.

In contrast, my improved reel is easily held expanded and easily collapsed, even under relatively heavy coil loads, the necessary operating power being only a fraction of that required by reels known heretofore.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part of this application, there is shown, for purpose of illustration, several embodiments which my invention may assume, and in these drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of my improved reel, certain parts being broken away to better illustrate construction,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view generally corresponding to the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view generally corresponding to the line 33 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is an end elevational view similar to Figure l but showing parts in another position,

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view generally corresponding to the line 55 of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating a different means of operating my improved reel,

Figure 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view generally corresponding to the line 77 of Figure 6, and

and screws 19 presently being employed to effect secure- I ment.

A wedge member 20 extends the length of the reel face, and this wedge member is engageable with surfaces of the movable segments 11 which are complementarily formed to engage with the wedge member. It will be evident that the drum will be expanded when the wedge 20 is moved 2,711,862 Patented June 28, 1955 to the position shown in Figure 1 and will be contracted when the wedge is moved to position shown in Figure 4. The wedge member 20 is formed with oppositely inclined longitudinally extending slots 20a, either of which is adapted to receive the leading edge of a strip so that such strip may be wound on the drum in either direction of.rotation of the latter.

Movement of the wedge 20 toward and away from the drum axis is presently effected by the following means: As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, a member 21, formed of side plates 22 and spacer blocks 23 and 24, is slidable axially in ways formed by side plates 25 and a bottom plate 26. The side plates 25 and plate 26 are welded, as shown in Figure 1, to the hub 13 in order to provide an unitary assembly. Means presently provided to prevent lateral shifting of the slide 21 include keys 27 secured to the side plates 25 and keyways 28 in the plates 22. Gibs 29 are bolted to the plates 25 to prevent lateral movement of the right-hand end of the slide 21 as viewed in Figure 2.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the slide member 21 rests upon wear plates 30 which are secured to the bottom plate 26. These wear plates 30 may be formed of a lowfriction bearing material in order to reduce friction between the movable slide and the stationary ways.

Links 31 extend between the wedge member 20 and the slide member 21, and these links are each pivoted to the members by respective pivots 32, 33.

It will now be apparent that as the slide 21 is moved axially of the shaft 17, the wedge which is confined between cover plates 34 and 35, will move radially and effect pivotal movement of the segments 11 and thus expand or contract the reel, depending upon the direction of movement of the slide.

The embodiment in Figures 1 through 5 illustrates a screw mechanism 36 for manually effecting shifting movement of the slide 21. This screw mechanism comprises a screw portion 37 threadably engageable with the block 23,

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an enlarged collar portion 38, and a bearing portion 39. The bearing portion 39 is rotatably carried by a block 40 disposed between the plates 25, and the block is clamped in position by the cover plate 34. Thrust bearings 41 and 42 are disposed on either side of the block 40, and the screw is held assembled to the block by means of a removable collar 43 and a locking ring 44. A squared shank 45 is provided to facilitate rotation of the screw by any desirable means, and an aperture 46 is provided in the plate 34 to permit access to the shank. A spacer 47 is interposed between the collar 33 and the block 23 for a purpose later to appear.

It will now be-clear that when the screw portion 37 isv rotated in one direction, the slide will be moved in a predetermined direction, for example to the right (as viewed in Figure 2) to the position shown in Figure 5. This will collapse the reel and allow a completed coil to be removed therefrom. Rotation of the screw in the opposite direction will cause the slide to return to its original position to expand the reel and ready it for another winding operation.

Referring once again to Figure 2, it is to be understood that the links 31 are angularly arranged with respect to the vertical approximately as shown so that a coil wound upon the expanded reel will have at least a slight tendency to move the slide 21 to the right. This movement will be resisted largely by friction between the slide 21 and the wear plates 30, and the screw assembly 36. The angular relation of the links may be adjusted by using spacers 47 of varying thickness so that a desired angular relation may be secured wherein the reel may be effectively expanded and collapsed and wherein the screw will carry but a small load in assisting friction to prevent movement of the slide.

When the coil is completed, the reel may be collapsed by rotating the screw, and this rotation will be effected I easily since the screw carries very little load and-the movement of the slide is assisted by the weight and tension of the coil. Thus it will be evident that my improved reel requires very little force to cause it to collapse orto hold' it expanded.

Attention is now directed to Figures -6 and 7, wherein a modification is illustrated for effecting expansion and collapsing of the reel by power means. Such power means may comprise a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) which effects axial movement of a rod 48 in the center of the shaft 17. A member 49 may be secured as shown to both the slide 21 and the rod 48, thereby connecting the slide and the'rod for unitary movement. A spacer SO-may be interposed between the slide 21 and the member 49,

this spacer serving the same purpose as spacer '47 previously mentioned. -Operation of the foregoing embodiment will be similar to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 through 5, it being apparent that the advantage previously mentioned are equally applicable here.

Figure 8 illustrates my invention as modified for operation by pneumatic means, such as an air cylinder. Although the economy of providing an expansible-contractable reel operated by air pressure is Well known, such airoperated reels have not been successful because of prior art reel design. These prior art reels require large forces to operate the reel and to keep it expanded, and it has been impractical to produce these forces by air pressure. My reel is easily adapted for operation by an air cylinder, the construction being similar to that described and shown in Figure 6.

1 As illustrated in Figure 8, adapting my improved reel for air operation requires that the angle of the links be changed from that shown in Figure 6 to a position more nearly aligned with the vertical so that the pressure exerted by the coil will be ineffective to move the slide 21 against the friction of the various parts. With this construction, it will be apparent that a constant pressure will not be required on the rod 48 in order to keep the reel from collapsing and therefore any fluctuations in the air pressure will not affect proper expanded operation of the reel. In this embodiment the piston rod of the cylinder may be connected directly to the rod'48 and, since a very light cylinder pressure, or no pressure at all, is required to maintain the reel in expanded relation, complicated and expensive cylinder, scaling and bearing constructions may be eliminated.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention and it will 'also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described, hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. A reel for strip material supported by a rotatably mounted shaft, comprising an expansible-contractable drum having a hub portion engageable with said supporting shaft, said drum comprising a first reel segment in fixed relation with respect to said hub portion and second reel segments each having one end pivotally secured to said first segment and each having its free end movable toward and away from the drum axis, means forming a part of said hub portion providing a channel which is offset radially of said shaft and which extends longitudinally of the axis thereof, wedge means movable radially of said drum axis and engageable with the free ends of said second segments for effecting pivotal movement thereof, slide means seated in said channel and movable therein longitudinally of said drum axis, link means connecting said slide means with said wedge means to translate movement of the former to movement of the latter and consequent movement of said second reel segments, and means for effecting movement of said slide means to expand and contract said drum.

'2. -A reel for strip material supported by a rotatably mounted shaft, comprising an expansible-contractable drum having a hub portion engageable with said supporting shaft, said drum comprising a first reel segment in fixed relation with respect to said hub portion and second reel segments each having one end pivotally secured to said first segment and each having its free end movable toward and away from the drum axis, means forming a part of said hub portion providing a channel which is offset radially of said shaft and which extends longitudinally of the axis thereof, said channel being generally rectangular in transverse cross-section and being open on the side furthest removed from said shaft, Wedge means movable radially .of said drum axis and engageable with the free ends of said second segments for effecting pivotal movement thereof, slide means proportioned to slideably fit within said channel and movable therein longitudinally of said drum axis, link means extending through the open side of said channel and connecting said slide means with said wedge means to translate movement of the former to movement of the latter and consequent movement of said second reel segments, and means for effecting movement of said slide means to expand and contract said drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,820,693 Dreisbach Aug. 25, 1931 1,986,090 Winters Jan. 1, 1935 2,270,064 Littell Jan. 13, 1942 2,587,885 Paxson Mar. 4, 1952 

